A Tale as Old as Myth
by Luckyklutz
Summary: He father always said, "The sea is not something to be feared. It is powerful, yes... but it will use its power for its own benefit. As long as you respect it, it will respect you." But after he disappears in a violent storm, she no longer can respect the sea. It is cruel and unfair. But if there is an opportunity to save those she loves, Annabeth will do anything.
1. Prologue

Hello, everyone! Emboldened by the success of my first crossover story, Something Wicked This Way Comes, my best friend (hello, Narnia868!) and I decided to write another crossover. This one, Tale as Old as Myth, is a bit of a different format. This is just the very beginning, but since we love you all so much, we decided to post it here. So think of this as a mere taste of what is to come. Hopefully, you all enjoy and you can let us know by reviewing!

And of course, neither of us owns Percy Jackson or Beauty and the Beast, but we are manipulating their stories for our own enjoyment.

And one more thing- I will be more referencing the original Beauty and the Beast myth than the Disney movie. If you would like clarification on the original story, I suggest you listen to the Myths and Legends podcast, which chronicles the story.

Now, here goes, after that incredible long Author's Note... A Tale as Old as Myth.

* * *

Everyone in city of Rome feared the ocean, but none more than Annabeth Chase. Her father used to be a humble fisherman that lived on the edge of the town. It was simply him and her. The entire town knew of them and thought that they were simply insane, depending on the sea for their very survival.

Her father, however, knew differently. He used to take Annabeth down to the sea and show her the vast expanse of water. "Annabeth, the sea is not something to be feared. It is powerful, yes. It has untold power both on the surface and beneath, but it will use its power for its own benefit. As long as you respect it, it will respect you."

Respect. That one word had once been Annabeth's greatest comfort, but it had become her greatest curse. When she was 15, her father had set out on one of his fishing expeditions. He had respected the sea. He only caught what he needed to survive, and he cleaned up whatever trash he saw. A monstrous storm struck. Annabeth wasn't worried, though, because she believed that because her father always respected the sea, he would come back. She remained hopeful for days, then weeks. He never did.

Alone. One night, nearly two weeks later, Annabeth couldn't take it anymore. She ran out of the cozy little home she used to share with her father and down to the beach. She wanted to scream and rage against the gods. First, they had taken her best friend, Luke, in a monster attack. The only person that had stuck by her in her grief was her father. But now, he was gone also. She had no one and nothing. Staring out at the sea, she contemplated what she could do now. For a brief moment, she considered suicide. There was nothing for her to live for, no one who would care if she just... disappeared. Just like her father.

Then, she saw something. A shape formed on the water, coming closer and closer. Squinting, she saw the distinctive shape of her father's boat, the _S.S. Camel_. It was her father's pride and joy. He named it after an animal that he heard of long ago. He was sort of obsessed with them, but she loved him for it.

She wasn't sure whether she wanted to laugh or cry. She didn't know how the boat had made it back to the exact shore that she stood at, and it seemed almost like a cruel twist of fate that it survived while her father had not.

It got closer and closer until the little boat nudged against her ankles, as if it were trying to tell her something. Annabeth knelt down and touched the boat. "Where is he, Camel? Where's father?" she murmured. She immediately felt silly. Of course the boat couldn't understand her. Nonetheless, she quickly ran back to her home, gathered a few supplies, and sprinted back to where the little boat was lying. Sitting down in the boat, she said, "Take me to him."

Under its own power, the boat started to move. Annabeth stared into the night, not knowing where she was going or what she would find there, but trusting that she would find what she sought.


	2. On Why I'm a Colossal Mess

p class="MsoNormal"Hi everyone. I'm so, so sorry that I haven't updated in so long. The truth is, I am very busy with college, but I am also dealing with some personal issues that are inhibiting my ability to update. Let's just say, I've had a lot of feelings of worthlessness, including a few times where I've wondered if anyone would miss me if I died. Don't worry, I never did anything about it, but nevertheless, it has been a very dark time. I have barely been able to write a few sentences. But please, don't think I have abandoned you. I'm still planning on writing more. But I just need to take some time to get myself back to a somewhat normal, functioning state. Please forgive me. With all my love, Luckyklutz/p 


	3. The Storm

Hi, I'm back. I know, it's been forever. But I had an impulse t write today, and by some miracle, I don't have a ton of homework for college, so here it is. It's pretty depressing, just a warning. PS, I don't own Percy Jackson or Beauty and the Beast.

p class="MsoNormal"The boat sailed on for hours. Annabeth's usually active thoughts became numb and sluggish, as though moving through tree sap. She idly wondered where on earth this boat could be taking her, and how it was doing so. In Rome, things happening seemingly without cause or direction were not uncommon, but Annabeth had never quite been convinced. She tended to like things that made sense. Gears and levers were more her style. While others seemed quick to assume the direction of the gods, she could find the cause and solution. But still the dinghy kept moving under its own power. Her father was a genius, but she doubted that he had made a self-steering boat./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Annabeth was so occupied with her own thoughts that she didn't even notice that the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Camel/em had stopped. She looked around. There was nothing anywhere in sight. No land, not even a clump of seaweed marked where she was. Of course, the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Camel/em had lost its oars in the storm, so she couldn't try to get back home—whichever direction that was. She was well and truly stuck. Looking at her meager provisions, she sighed. Perhaps this was the gods' punishment for considering suicide. Suicide rather than dishonor was fine, lauded even. But she was just the daughter of a fisherman. She had no honor to speak of. She laughed, both hysterically and bitterly. The irony of her situation was poignant. She was being punished for thoughts of death by death, on the very thing that she had not feared despite the many warnings./p  
p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"Then, she saw them. Storm clouds billowed up from seemingly nowhere, dark and foreboding. This, Annabeth knew, was truly the end. She found it fitting that she would die in the same way that had taken her father. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I'll be there soon, papa./em She looked down at the boat that had brought her here, seemingly to her death. If she had to go, she decided, it wasn't a bad way—on her way to see her father, in the thing that he had loved, on the thing he respected. Then, the storm crashed over the little dinghy with a ferocity that rivaled any monster attack. The em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Camel/em put up a good fight, but it eventually flipped, dumping Annabeth into the icy waters below. As she sank, she thought she saw a light coming out of the darkness. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Maybe it's the underworld/em, she thought. For a brief moment, she panicked, wondering if she had a coin to pay the ferryman. Then, darkness pulled at her, and Annabeth knew no more./p


End file.
